The Dry

I very much enjoyed The Dry by Jane Harper, an Australian debut author.  Federal police officer, Aaron Falk, returns to his childhood town for a funeral of his childhood friend Luke Hadler and his family.  He is persuaded to stay on for a few days to help the local police sergeant investigate the deaths.  Aaron and his father left the town 20 years earlier following the suspicious death of one of Aaron's friends.  Now the past returns to haunt him.  The reader finally learns the truth.  This is a very well-written suspenseful story.  Hard to put down. Highly recommended.  4/1/2/5

The Italian Wife

I enjoyed The Italian Wife by Kate Furnivall which is set in 1930s Italy when Mussolini was in power.  Architect Isabella Berotti is sitting in a cafe when a woman asks to leave her small daughter with her for a few minutes.  Then shockingly Isabella witnesses the woman plunge to her death from a nearby tower.  The little girl is taken to an orphanage and Isabella is left with the mystery as to why the girl was left with her.  Isabella later meets a photographer, Roberto, and she starts to realise  they are living in dangerous times.  Ten years earlier her husband was assassinated and she survived the same attack.  She wants to know why her husband was killed and finds everything is connected.  Isabella and Roberto become romantically linked and together they solve the mystery. 31/2/5

August Book Club

 This month Book Club was at my place.  There was only five of us this time as other ladies are travelling overseas - London, Bali, Alaska and Spain.  They are having a wonderful time.  We had a good time at Book Club too.  It is always good to get together with like-minded people where we can talk about life and books. 

Margot at War

I very much enjoyed Margot at War by Anne De Courcy which is a biography of Margot Asquith, wife of H.H. Asquith who was Prime Minister of Great Britain just before and part of World War I.  This period included the Suffragette movement and Irish Home Rule.  It was fascinating to read about Margot's life and the man she loved.  It gives a very personal insight in to their lives.  It was interesting that most of the British people, including the government, did not see the danger ahead till almost the last minute when Germany invaded Belgium.  Prime Minister Asquith had a complicated personal life which included a love for his daughter's best friend.  He seemed an efficient Prime Minister who did his best to avert a war but when it happened he moved swiftly to mobilise the country.  Margot loved him unconditionally though being aware that she shared him with his daughter and her daughter's friend.  Some parts I found appalling including his pursuit of this young woman (writing love letters during Cabinet meetings) while men were losing their lives on the battlefield.  This is a "behind closed doors" look at prominent people including some who were responsible for the huge losses on the western front.  Highly recommended for those interested in this period of history. 5/5  

New books for August 2016

It is my turn to host Book Club in August so I bought the new books from Booktopia.  This year I went through my newspaper cuttings to produce a "long list" of 20 which was drastically reduced to eight.  Click on the link to learn more about the book and read reviews.  I hope we will enjoy them.

The Strays by Emily Bitto is the author's debut novel. Lily is invited to a retrospective exhibition of the art of Evan Trentham, one of the early Modernists.  Lily, now middle-aged, met Eva Trentham on her first day at school. The invitation reminds Lily of members of the Trentham family and their artist colony founded in the 1930s on the outskirts of Melbourne.  In 2015 The Strays won the Stella Prize, a major literary award that celebrates Australian women’s writing.

Treading Air by Ariella Van Luyn is another debut novel from an Australian female author.  A young working-class couple, Joe and Lizzie O'Dea, eke out a living in 1920s Townsville until Lizzie turns to an old and lucrative profession.

The Dry by Jane Harper is also a debut novel set in a drought ravaged Australian country town where an horrific murder-suicide takes place. A policeman returns to the town to attend the funeral and is reluctantly drawn in to the investigation.

The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop  is set in 1963 when an English family migrates to Australia hoping for a better life.

The Muse by Jessie Burton is set in 1936 and 1967.  In 1967 a young woman from Trinidad begins her job at a London art gallery.  A masterpiece with a secret history is delivered.  The painting's story goes back to 1936.  The two stories then become entwined. (From the author of The Miniaturist.)

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave is a love story set in World War II inspired by the lives of the author's grandparents.  Grandfather served in Malta and grandmother drove ambulances during the Blitz.

The Words in My Hand by Guinevere Glasfurd is author's first novel and based on the little-known story of Helena Jans, who worked as a maid in Amsterdam and was Rene Descartes' lover. Although many books have been written about Descartes, about Helena almost nothing is known.   She desperately wants to be able to write but her gender and position in society makes this very difficult.

Precious Things by Kelly Doust  tells the story of a beaded collar which makes it way through the years to be found by a young woman in the present time.

Day Four

I enjoyed Day Four by Sarah Lotz which is set on a luxury cruise liner somewhere in the Caribbean Sea.  Strange things start happening on Day Four.  Somehow there seems to be no way of communicating with the world beyond the ship.  On board there are a number of highlighted characters with chapters devoted to each.  The most significant is a personal assistant to a psychic who communicates with people who have "passed on".  The psychic gradually expands her special group who are on the cruise to be with her when she does her "performances".  As each day passes, the fate of the ship becomes more uncertain, and really weird.  I've just learned this is a sequel to The Three, but it can stand alone. 4/5

All That is Lost Between Us

I enjoyed most of All That is Lost Between Us by Sara Foster which is set in the English countryside.  We are almost immediately intrigued when the main character Georgia is intent on telling her best friend/cousin Sophia about her secret.  Before Georgia can reveal her secret she is prevented from doing so when an incident occurs.  The story is told in turn by other members of Georgia's family.  Her parents are having marital problems and this has an effect on how they treat their children.  The reader is left wondering what could be so bad that all this drama is played out.  Of course, eventually is revealed but do we really care. 4/5